Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

Our generations are falling short

I don’t always agree with George Will — except both of us are insufferable Cub fans. But his July 27 piece, “Americans have managed through major disruptions (see 1942),” was spot on. What Tom Brokaw dubbed the “Greatest Generation” performed spectacularly in 1942, as well as through the balance of WWII. However, Will didn’t finish the story.

The Greatest Generation is materially dead and gone; and the present generations are too spoiled to sacrifice anything. Today’s twenty-somethings are unwilling to forgo beach revelries or favorite watering holes — unlike the 1942 twenty-somethings who rushed to recruiting offices to enlist to defend America. Today’s thirty- through fifty-somethings can’t accept the specter of not being able to eat at their favorite gourmet restaurants — unlike their 1942 counterparts, who accepted rations on most everything. Ignored: Baby Boomers can face a likely death sentence if infected.

Worse, our president is doing everything wrong. He is more concerned about pleasing his wealthy business-owning supporters than protecting human lives. He ignores unanimous advice from experts and has abdicated his responsibilities, falsely claiming that states are responsible for responding to the COVID-19 pandemic — the consequence of which is a patchwork of feckless remedies, for the most part punctuated by Republican governors refusing to close down much of anything and hindering Democratic governors from doing something tangible. Atop that, the remedies — masks, social distancing, etc. — have become a political issue. These are the worst generations.